Exodus on Campus
by Yukimura Hina
Summary: Self-insert NOT OC crackfic with a semblance of plot. May also include coarse language, inside jokes, and genderbending angel possession. Please read and review! Multichaptered. Sequel/companion fic will be posted soon as well.  Set S6ep2
1. Chapter 1

{A/N: For the purposes of this fic, Sam has a soul. Setting is S6, ep2. Prepare for massive amounts of crack. I own nothing. }

Cheryl and I walked downtown, the nearly freezing wind whipping our hair around our heads and making us draw closer to each other for warmth and wipe the fog off our glasses, a rare feat for Texas. The smell of the nearby pizza shop filled our nostrils. Across the street we could see the Language building on campus and a few stragglers leaving class. We passed a group of fellow students and waved to the people we knew. It was just past Halloween, but the holiday spirit was still evident in the carved pumpkins and stuffed scarecrows still propped near doorways. As we window-shopped around the main entertainment street in Denton I turned to see a flash of black and chrome cruise by with the harsh sounds of Metallica's heavy metal riffs floating out of the open windows. I glanced inside as the car passed and saw two men, the one with short hair driving and the other with a longer cut holding a map. There's no way. It has to be a coincidence. I thought disbelievingly. Cheryl had been talking about how excited she was for the upcoming football game, despite the memorial service for six young men who had recently passed, and watching her friends in the band perform their new routine when I cut her off.

"Oh my god," I gaped.

"What?" Cheryl cut off mid-rant.

"I.. I don't know how to explain this, it doesn't make sense, but I think… I think that was them."

"WHO?" Cheryl yelled, throwing her hands up with impatience.

"THEM! I nearly screamed, spittle flying out of my mouth. "The Winchesters! THE GODDAMN IMPALA!"

Several seconds passed by in freeze frame, my arms raised, eyes bulging and my breath coming out in short pants and Cheryl standing there smiling naïvely. I groaned loudly in frustration, turning all nearby eyes on us.

"Let's just go, I'll explain on the way." I grabbed her arm and pulled her into step behind me. We took off running and quickly flagged down a cab. "Follow that car!" I yelled and we peeled out, my finger pointing the way.

Eventually, they pulled into an alley and Cheryl and I burst from our cab, throwing money into the window and began to sidle down the alley, pressing our backs to the cold brick of the surrounding building. We passed the '67 Impala, parked and still cooling off, and I trailed my shaking fingertips across her black doors and headlights reverently, letting out a breathy shudder. Cheryl stared at me and raised her eyebrow in typical 'what the fuck' fashion. I simply motioned with my eyes ahead of us where two men were standing close together and talking quietly near the stone wall of the building, their bodies just a foot away from a beam of sunlight filtering down from between the walls.

I motioned for us to creep forward and all went well until Cheryl's knee hit a metal trash can and sent it clattering to the ground. The men spun around and a silver handgun and sawed-off shotgun, no doubt filled with rock salt, were now aimed at our faces. My heart leapt into my throat. I honestly could've cared less that we were probably about to die an unbelievably painful death, because the glory of Dean and Sam was laid out in front of me.

They were real. They were here. They were gorgeous.

Sam stood six foot-something tall in jeans and a green flannel shirt under his tan jacket, his hair layered and sideburns magnificent. His mouth was drawn and his eyebrows furrowed into a very confused but cautious look. I couldn't take my eyes off of Dean, however. Glorious. Where I probably should've been terrified by his alarmingly green eyes piercing mine over the barrel of his gun, his full lips pursed in anticipation, I was only enraptured. His leather jacket over a grey t-shirt rustled as he took a step forward, and his boots crunched the gravel beneath us. Vaguely, I could hear Cheryl cursing in pain behind me, but only really snapped out of it as she grabbed my shoulder and leaned against me, still muttering, "Fuck, that hurt." The brothers looked at each other agreeing that we were not a threat and lowered their weapons, putting them out of sight as best they could. Then Sam spoke, his gaze softening.

"Sorry about that, you kind of snuck up on us."

"Goddamn-it! Fuck! I'm sorry!" Cheryl said as she held her knee, then looked up at me and followed my gaze to the men. She only now seemed to notice the weapons in their calloused hands. "Oh!" she said, taking a minute step back and raising her hands in surrender. "I had nothing to do with this. I was just following her!" She pointed at me. I whipped my head around and glared, but Dean's voice brought me around.

"So… why were you following us?" he asked, one eyebrow raised. Here, I chanced to talk, but my voice was unnaturally high.

"I - well, we followed you because I recognized you. You're Sam and Dean Winchester, aren't you? You're hunters. I can't believe it. The books are real." I paused to really take in the idea that the series I'd been following for the past year was true. It put a new, daunting aspect on the world. A quiet nervousness fell over the group. For a few moments, only breathing was heard, and then Cheryl broke the silence by addressing Sam.

"You're like, really pretty!" she exclaimed then laughed, her hand covering her mouth. Sam leaned away, flushing crimson.

"You're here on a case aren't you? I can help!" I spoke quickly, desperately, like if I didn't say all that I could, they would disappear.

Dean stepped forward, his head lowering. He sighed and looked back up. "Look kid," he began.

"My name is Bella, and I'm a college student," I interrupted curtly.

"And I'm Cheryl!" Cheryl piped in.

Dean cleared his throat. "Well, Bella and Cheryl, I don't know how you could really..."

"Does this have anything to do with the string of recent deaths on campus?" I cut in determinedly.

"What do you know about that?" Sam finally spoke up, his voice piqued with interest.

"All we know was that all six died around midnight, and nobody really knows how. Their autopsies revealed nothing. I just get the feeling that they're all connected somehow and I can't figure it out," I said solemnly. "I've been researching the events for quite some time. Comparing the police and school reports with my notes from your stories and a few other sources rules out demons, werewolves, vampires and shifters, but as I'm not authorized to actually go look at the bodies, I can only go so far."

Dean and Sam looked at each other, surprised. They turned back to us. Dean looked at me challengingly and said, "You may have read Chuck's books and have a bit of an idea about the shit in this world, but you don't know what's happening now and we'd like to keep it that way."

I spoke again, my voice confident this time.

"Well, I know Mr. Edlund hasn't published anything recently, so no, after the averted Apocalypse (thank you, by the way) we don't know what's happening, but we would if you told us. We're not the only non-hunters who 'have an idea' about what's happening. What about that Becky girl, for crying out loud? If you have any doubts that I will keep your secrets, I will take a blood oath to prove myself…Cheryl too." I finished my spiel with my hands on my hips. Again, Cheryl broke the silence.

"No way! I'm not bleeding for these guys!" Cheryl looked at me indignantly, and I glared back as if to say, 'Shut up. Just go with it.' Dean and Sam still looked like they needed convincing.

"For another reason, this is our school. These are our classmates dying."

"Look-" Dean began, easily becoming more and more agitated with every passing second. It was beautiful to behold – just like the books! Just like how I imagined it! His stance read 'There's no way we're letting you do this" even as his face softened in sympathy.

"And if we can find you in an abandoned alleyway, we can find you anywhere." Surprisingly enough, this valid point came from Cheryl. She kept a large, welcoming grin on her face and continued with sickening ease. "This is our town and I'm an excellent stalker. I will find you."

Dean and Sam stared at her with mild expressions of shock before turning to each other for a short huddle moment. This is it! They're considering it! They could actually say yes!

After a moment of tensed muttering on their part and bated breath on my part (Cheryl seemed perfectly content to stand and stare and smile), Sam turned back and said, "Okay, yes, that is the case we're working on. We have a few leads, but this campus's security is pretty tight and we're having an issue actually getting in past the administration to research the situation."

I positively glowed at this news. This was perfect!

"We can be your inside people! I can gather information on the students for you. Or we can help make you some fake ids," I said, excited once again. "And if we get in the way, you can tell us to leave, but as long as we're of assistance, you have to trust us."


	2. We Make Movie References

Cheryl, Sam, Dean and I walked into the dingy motel room, our sight slowly recovering from the contrast in lighting. The walls were wallpapered green and had off white baseboards running around the entire room. The entire room smelled of cheeseburgers and feet. To the left of the door was a circular table with stacks of manila file folders and Sam's laptop, charging. In front of us was a solitary queen sized bed, the brown and gold coverlet tossed haphazardly to the ground and the sheets rumpled. At the foot of the bed, there were two duffel bags, one halfway opened and revealing clothes. Next to the bed and in front of the tiny, most likely broken television was a small couch. It had two pillows awkwardly bunched in the corners of the cushion, sheets here too, balled up in another corner. At the back of the room, farthest from us was a door, presumably to the bathroom.

"So who got the couch?" I asked smiling as Dean shut the door behind everyone. He moved past me to sit on the edge of the bed and nodded his head in Sam's direction. "That'd be Gigantor, there." Dean chuckled as Sam turned his Bitchface on full blast.

"The ONE time you win at rock-paper-scissors…" Sam muttered as he turned to sit in the chair at the table, flipping his laptop screen up and pushing a lock of his hair behind his ears. I stifled a giggle at the thought of Sam having to fit on that little sofa, his legs draped over the end of the whole thing. Cheryl and I stood in the middle of the room. I looked around and noted with sated interest that indeed there were lines of salt in front of the one window and door.

"So, let's go over what we know," I began, wanting to sound as authoritative as I could.

"One: you told us that Raphael has sent one of his little angel minions with a piece of Moses' staff to take the lives of young men," Cheryl said, counting off on her fingers.

"Okay, two: yesterday I found out that all of the boys were the oldest of their siblings," Sam added as he looked up from his computer.

"Three: all six died at or around midnight with no visible physiological signs as to their deaths." My voice lowered and I scrunched my eyebrows in contemplation. Dean fiddled with the demon-killing knife for a bit before speaking.

"Cas said that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Angel was a 'traditionalist' and he'd want nothing more than to restart the Apocalypse. Maybe he's working up to that by recreating some other event… What else was the staff of Moses used for?"

"The plague," I spoke quietly, my mouth hanging open and eyes widening in quick realization. Everyone turned to look at me.

"Run that by me again?" Dean asked.

"It's one of the last plagues, isn't it? Moses said that the first born sons would be killed because the Pharaoh refused to release the Israelites. Quick! Give me a Bible!"

"Do I honestly look like I carry a Bible?" Dean retorted with a snarky look on his face.

"Here you go," Sam suddenly spoke up, appearing next to me with a pocket Bible. Cheryl chuckled and said "Oh, that's so cute!" Dean's face of disdain was curiously hostile and he rolled his eyes. I flipped through the pages furiously, landing on the book of Exodus. I read aloud, my voice nearly reverent, "So Moses said to the king, "This is what the Lord says: 'About midnight tonight I will go through all Egypt. Every firstborn son in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of the king, who sits on his throne, to the firstborn of the slave girl grinding grain. There will be loud outcries everywhere in Egypt, worse than any time before or after this.'" My words fell heavy in the atmosphere; all in the room were stunned into silence.

"Cas!" Dean raised his voice in prayer. His eyes snapped closed and he looked like he was straining to be heard. His head lolled back and his Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed. "Castiel, we need you immediately! You know where we are and we need your feathery ass NOW. We've got an issue of Biblical proportions." Before he could even finish his sentence, there was a fluttering of invisible wings and a deep, gravelly voice spoke. "Hello, Dean." The air burned with something like ozone and I could feel a full and pressing presence. It was suffocating. Castiel stood stiffly in his suit and trench coat, his black hair sticking in odd directions. His eyes electrifyingly blue pierced mine briefly then turned to Dean. Promptly, Cheryl freaked the fuck out.

"Oh my GOD!" she screamed, jumping back wide-eyed. "Who the- what the fuck? What IS he?" I rushed to her side and she gripped my arm, her nails nearly breaking the skin. She was hyperventilating. This was not good. I had to calm her down before her heart exploded or something. I grabbed her face and made her look me in the eye.

"Cheryl," I said calmly, "That is Castiel. He is an angel of the Lord-" (Amazingly enough, she had enough air to scoff.) "-He is the one who gripped Dean tight and raised him from perdition." Cheryl's breathing was becoming less ragged, but her whole body was still tensed in fear. She did a double take at the being still standing near the door. "What?"

"Just go sit down on the couch. You'll be alright." I sighed and led her over to the little couch. I walked up to Castiel softly, bowing my head in respect. I looked up and he turned his nearly emotionless face to mine. "My name is Bella and it's such an incredible honor to meet you." I put out my hand as I spoke. He looked at it confusedly for a moment, and then gripped it in a quick shake. I felt a white-hot spark thrumming up and down my arm when his hand touched mine. This must be Grace, I thought in awe.

Castiel spoke, addressing everyone simultaneously, but only looking at Dean. "I have heard your prayers and I already know. You are correct in your assumptions. Raphael is attempting to recreate the soul gathering of the final plague. His wrath is great and his plan is one no one could predict. Fortunately, the angel responsible was interrupted before they could finish that night."

"Can you tell who it is or when they'll try again?" Sam asked from his spot at the table. I started, having forgotten that he was even in the room. Castiel turned to Sam and a bit sharply said, "Yes. It is Azrael, the Angel of Death. She is the six-winged Archangel that holds the book that carries the names of all the living and the dead. She is the one that ravaged Sodom and Gomorra, that performed the first sweep through Egypt and stole the light from all the firstborns and she has come for a repeat performance."

Sam raised one eyebrow and put one hand on his hip. "Is she like, leader of the Reapers? Does she work for Death then?"

Castiel let out a noise too soft to be a full sigh, but full of disappointment. "What have I said about asking stupid questions? Reapers tremble before her. Death and her have a more... interesting relationship, although they are not related. Father took inspiration from him and created her, the perfect soldier, the most powerful harbinger of death for good and evil alike. She calls Death.. 'Uncle Muerte'." (Cheryl snorted.)

"Well, why would she be working with Raphael?" Sam asked, terrified.

"That IS most confusing. Azrael has only the most profound reverence and obedience for our Father. She would not take orders from any other. He must have convinced her that this task was on His orders."

Sam huffed in disbelief. "Sounds pretty unprofessional if she just listens to anyone who claims the orders came from higher up."

Castiel sighed fully then, his shoulders heaving and his expression becoming one of intense discomfort. "It... is rumored that she often imbibes copious amounts of alcohol," he said. "My 'bender' as you called it pales in comparison. It is likely that Raphael took advantage of her during one such run." Dean's face furrowed in concentration as he said, "So, until we can convince her otherwise we need to protect this school somehow. She's using the staff. What protects from her name brand insta-death?" We all thought silently for a moment when from the couch, Cheryl's voice floated through our little bubble.

"Blood," she stated simply, "Lamb's blood." Four heads whipped around to stare at Cheryl.

"Hey, I get it. That might work," I said incredulously, my face stretching into a smile. I turned back to the brothers who were switching their gazes between me, Cheryl and Castiel. Sam, for once, looked stupefied, his lips slightly tensed. Dean's face was a vision of confusion, his eyebrows uneven, one so high it was nearly touching his hairline, his mouth hung open and I could nearly hear the white noise I'm sure he was thinking. He closed his mouth, took a breath and stood up from the bed, stepping forward and facing Cheryl. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Oh my gosh, have you never seen 'The Prince of Egypt'?" she exclaimed, hands in the air and eyes wide with disbelief.


	3. Guess Who's Back?

{Random A/N: the Cheryl in this story is the username bandnerd2669, so you should totally check her work out. Please review!}

After a tedious and disgusting trip to a nearby Denton high school (where Cheryl waited in the car) Sam, Dean and I snuck into the FFA barn and efficiently drained their beautiful blue-ribbon winning baby lamb of its blood into an empty gas can by means of a funnel and quickly made our return to the motel. Once we arrived, there was a bit of confusion as to how we were going to sneak lamb's blood into all the dorm halls inconspicuously. One burst of genius and a short drive to the pharmacy later and we were armed with sterilized nail polish bottles filled with the quickly congealing stuff. The idea was to each take a hall and paint a stripe above each dorm doorframe, but the brothers had obviously forgotten that Cheryl and I were 5'4" and 5'3", respectively. Needless to say, it took us a bit longer to finish our sections and by the time we had successfully protected every dorm, it was late and I was ready to pass out. At 3 in the morning, the four of us stood in the hallway outside my dorm room trying unsuccessfully to whisper. "You girls did pretty great today," Dean said with a small smile. "You not only came up with some really well thought out ideas, but you held up with all the busy work too; surprising, considering how short you both are." I smacked him in the arm. "Son of a bitch!" he exclaimed. "Don't be a baby. That was barely a love-tap," I retorted, giggling.

"Well, we'll see you tomorrow. We're going to get Cas to summon and talk some sense into Azrael. If it gets too dangerous, I want you two to get out of there, okay?" Dean said as he leaned in and put his hands on my shoulders. His eyes searched mine. "This is THE angel of death and she can kill you with a single flick of the wrist. Wouldn't want you to get caught in the crossfire." I stood there stunned. My mouth ran dry and I couldn't feel my feet. I heard Cheryl tapping her foot on the wall that she leaned against. I knew she was getting antsy.

"Well, okay," I whispered hoarsely. "Whatever you say." Dean chuckled and stepped back, side by side with Sam. They looked down the hall at the RA who was doing random night sweeps of the all-girls hall and power-walked to the door across from my room. Sam raised his hand in farewell and they disappeared down the three flights of steps, their boots thundering down the narrow stairwell.

The next morning was weird. Cheryl had stayed in my room, but my roommate had already been asleep when we got in, so we woke up extra early to get ready and leave for class so she would not freak out seeing some strange girl in my bed. I had texted Sam before I went into history class at 5 pm, 'Are we meeting today and where?', but received no reply, so I was shocked by their sudden appearance midway through my professor's rant on the economic standard during one of the World Wars. Dean and Sam were in their "FBI" outfits, sunglasses included, even though they were inside. I snorted and calmly packed up my bag as they flashed their fake badges at Mr. Rinkleff, claiming that they were agents Paige and Plant and that I needed to "come with them immediately for questioning". Rinkleff sputtered and threw down his chalk saying something about how uncalled for this was as the rest of my 300-plus classmates stared after me, whispering about whatever they thought I had done. As soon as we entered the once crowded hallway, I burst out laughing.

"Pretty conspicuous, don't you think, guys?"

"Whatever," Dean said. "We were in a hurry."

"And we were already carrying the badges. Might as well use them." Sam said as he strode ahead on his freakish legs to meet Cheryl who was waiting by the door of the building. She smiled and took out one of her headphones to talk, pointing to her backpack. "They already got me from class. Said that I was wanted for questioning in a murder case. My flute professor was so terrified!" I laughed and mimicked Rinkleff's face as I walked out, head hanging as if in shame. We started walking towards the parking lot where the Impala was parked. Midway to the car which was parked on the edge of the lot, away from everything else Cheryl stopped.

The light breeze that had been steadily blowing seemed to fall at our feet. The air positively crackled and shivers shot up my spine as I turned to look at her. Cheryl's whole body tensed and her pupils blew so wide I thought she was going blind. Her mouth cracked open, a sliver that looked like it wanted to grow to match the sensation growing within her, but was restrained by this newfound ailment's power. Cheryl's pajama pants and marching band hoodie started rippling. It wasn't wind, but rather it looked like her clothes were trying to crawl off of her to escape the power bursting forth. She was like dusty glass; solid, but nearly transparent, then the world felt like it was shattering around us. Her arms shot out to her sides with a quick snapping sound. The voice that emerged from her sounded like it was searing her throat, scalding with white fire. It wasn't so much words spilling from her mouth as it was a shrill screaming noise, so harsh and quickly rising in volume until me, Dean and Sam had to clasp hands over our ears for fear of bursting our eardrums. Waves of sheer power and vibrations sliced through the air as they pumped out of her throat in a steady stream. She stood there, her head thrown back and her eyes beginning to fill up with a bright white light, starting from the center of her pupils and melting outwards, filling to the rim and pulsing outward. I screamed, terrified. "What's happening to her?" I ran to her to try to hold her down, to cover her eyes, mouth, anything but I couldn't get close. The light from her eyes enveloped her completely and I could only stand back and shield my watering eyes. From behind me, strong arms (probably Dean's) wrapped tightly around my ribs and stomach, pulling me back to safety. In the midst of the light, I peeked through my fingers and was astonished to see the outline of a magnificent double set of wings unfurl from her back to spread against the darkness of the early evening sky above. They were massive, from tip to tip probably ten feet or more. The outline was very faint, but when they beat forward in a sudden wave I could feel the rush of wind smack me in the face. In the space of two seconds, the wings were gone and the light sucked back into her body. Cheryl glowed for a second and then her color faded back into a flushed pink. Her eyes rolled heavily in their sockets and she swayed on her feet. Sam rushed forward and caught her with one arm, bringing her to his chest as she fainted dead away. Twisting with her, he knelt down and gently laid her on the gravel, adjusting so that her head was resting right above his knee. Dean and I quickly came to their sides and fell to our knees. I was sobbing hard, my hands fluttering around her still face, hovering but not actually touching. "Cheryl!" I called out, beginning to panic when she didn't immediately wake up.

She stirred, her eyes opening to reveal honey-golden eyes instead of their normal dark brown. They twinkled mischievously and her face split into an enormous grin. The voice that came out of her mouth was in no way hers, but a jovial and quite MALE voice.

"Hey there, knuckleheads! And girl." He/she added with a nod as an afterthought.

"GABRIEL?" Sam's eyes spilled over in obvious joy as he leaned forward to clutch Cheryl's body with a breath-stopping hug, one that rivaled the one he gave Dean after seeing him returned from Hell. For a few moments, everyone held still as Sam blubbered into Cheryl/Gabriel's hair. Gabriel cleared his throat sheepishly and sat up, gently removing Sam from his space. "Sammy boy, as much as I appreciate the obvious hero-worship you display, your freakish pecs are pressing into this girl's clavicle and she does not appreciate that." He smiled, Cheryl's face radiating warmth. I fell back in shock from where I was perched on my knees and Dean did the same beside me, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. "How did? What the? Who the?" Dean stuttered. Gabriel laughed, the sound bouncing off the air like crystal bells.

"Honestly," Gabriel started, "I don't know. It takes some powerful angel mojo to reconstruct a mostly-dead Archangel."

"Mostly dead?" I asked, bewildered.

"Where would angels go after gettin' shivved besides Heaven? Nah, we just kind of... float about in bits and pieces. Only a few beings are powerful enough to put us back together. And it feels like I'm completely reborn. I've gotten all my Grace back." Gabriel stood up and wiped down his (Cheryl's) front.

"What about my friend Cheryl?" I demanded. "Don't you have to agree to get possessed? Not that we're not completely happy to see you," I backpedaled when Gabriel turned to me and tilted his head slightly and raised his eyebrow.

"But she did say yes, albeit silently. I was without form so I could only communicate through her mind. She's my official vessel. Ask her yourself." Gabriel's face fell and a shudder ransacked Cheryl's body. When she raised her head, her eyes were back to their normal color although a bit unfocused. She rubbed her temples and looked around. "Bella!" she cried out as she stuck out her hand to help me up from the ground. The sun was nearly finished setting behind us and two streetlights turned on overhead, bathing us in an orange-yellow glow. I pulled her into a hug and stepped back to look her over. Other than an unnatural amount of heat emanating from her, she seemed the same. "You were hearing an archangel talk to you and you didn't TELL me?" I fumed. Cheryl put up her hands in defense.

"Hey, I'm allowed to have my own religious epiphanies in private, aren't I? Besides... I didn't know it would actually work."

"So... you two are sharing your body?" Dean asked from his seat on the gravel.

"I guess so," Cheryl said, turning to him. She helped him up and he stood on shaky legs for a moment then walked over to the Impala and leaned against the hood, breathing deeply.

"What's it like?" Sam finally spoke to Cheryl. "I mean, for you. When Lucifer was in me, I couldn't even feel myself inside anymore, everything was just pain and darkness, but you seem to be... cohabiting your body."

"It's weird. It's like, summer inside me! I can feel him right underneath... inside me." She broke into giggles, and despite my remaining trepidation, I joined her. "But it's not all bad. I feel... protected, safer than I've ever felt on my own." Cheryl smiled.

{A/N: You guys... reviews make me continue (or quit forever). Silence makes me nervous.}


	4. Azrael

After Dean had caught his breath and it was understood that yes, Cheryl and Gabriel can indeed, switch back and forth, ground rules had to be established between the two of them, which meant an entire conversation held by one body.

"So, you're going to help me with my homework right?"

"Why in Dad's name should I?"

"Because you're using my body!"

"You said I could!"

"By the way, you're not allowed to show up in the shower."

"I think I have more respect than that... ok, fine."

"Excuse me, but I believe we have more important things to discuss," Sam interjected, looking incredulously at Cheryl/Gabriel. "We need your help, actually."

Gabriel stood tall and that familiar grin flitted across his face. He snapped and a cherry blow pop was called into existence. "What can I do you for, Sammy?"

Sam briefly outlined the situation to Gabriel, how Azrael was essentially working for Raphael on false pretenses and they needed Cas and Gabe to talk her out of a tenth plague encore. Gabriel looked as though he were considering it for a minute, then snapped his fingers and disappeared in a flutter of invisible wings.

It took Castiel only one look at his elder brother in his new vessel to understand what had transpired. With new courage and a plan that Castiel wasn't sure would work, the brothers appeared at the Impala's side and picked Dean, Sam and I up and with a strange tug on my midsection, we were all transported into a fully stocked bar devoid of people. (To encourage her to take our side, Gabriel said with a grin) He set up the summoning altar, lit a flame and chanted the Enochian spell in a harsh voice. As the last echos of the summoning spell faded they all started looking around, expecting at any moment to be attacked by a pissed off Archangel of Death. Nothing happened. Everyone began to relax, slowly, cautiously.

"So, you called. I would suggest you make it quick. Believe it or not, I do have things to be doing." She looked nothing like any angel the brothers had seen, and she looked about as deadly as a teddy bear. She was on the small side, only standing about 5'3". Short, ragged cut red hair swept across her eyes, cheekbones, the layers ending at her jaw. The red was a bright contrast when compared to her porcelain white skin, and emerald green eyes that practically glowed. Her face was delicate, almost elf-like, with almond-shaped eyes and high cheekbones. Oddly, a pair of wire rimmed glasses set on her nose, almost giving her the look of some Irish librarian. She unfolded herself gracefully from the booth she had been sitting in, a black, mid-thigh length tunic falling around her body in neat folds. She picked up the small glass she had sitting in front of her, sipping at it delicately, eyeing the group in front of her over the rim. "So... let's see... humans, and two angels. Interesting group set-up. But hey, whatever works for you. I'm more of a solo flier myself. Not a great companion or something." She blinked, and when her eyes opened, rather than the green that was there before, there were solid black eyes gazing at them. It was only when she walked closer that they realized her eyes weren't completely black. There were stars in her eyes. Stars like a midnight sky on a new moon. Bright, hopeful spots surrounded by cold darkness. She ran those eyes slowly over the brothers, and myself. Seemingly satisfied, she turned her eyes to the two angels. Castiel got a surprisingly thorough checking out, and there was a slight flash of emotion in her eyes before she looked over to Cheryl. The stare leveled at Cheryl could have frozen lava.

"I can tell who Thursday is over there, despite being dressed as some holy tax accountant," she said, gesturing with her head at Castiel, "but you... you seem a bit harder to track down. Do I know you?"

"Well, I should hope so, sister dear. It would be a huge blow to my pride if you forgot your favorite brother so soon."

There was a brief moment of shock in the Archangel's starry eyes, and then rage, pure and unadulterated, flared in them. "Bad idea. I don't know who you are, but no way in my Father's good Heaven are you Gabriel. I watched Gabriel's soul scatter to the four corners of the universe and I couldn't do anything to stop it. I can't find a single piece of it. And you decide to summon me, the Archangel of Death, to play a suicidal prank on? Bad idea. I'm not just going to kill you, I'm going to erase you from the entirety of Creation. Shame. Do not pass go... go straight to Jail." The power building in the room was starting to make the hair on everyone's arms stand up.

"Gabriel... do something..." Dean said, inching slowly away from the obviously pissed angel.

"Oh, do not worry, Dean Winchester. I have a bone to pick with you as well. You're the reason two of my brothers now reside in a small prison rather than one being dead and me at least having SOME of my family left alive."

"Azrael, relax. I am your family. I'm Gabriel. You still have me." Azrael's head snapped around, cold eyes fixating on Cheryl. "You push me too far, whoever you are. Enough." Her hand snapped out, and Cheryl was slammed against the wall. Castiel's blade was already in his hand as he charged. "Castiel no!" Gabriel shouted. With an almost deadly grace, Azrael spun away from Castiel's attacking, brushing his forehead with two fingers as she slid past. Castiel dropped, snoring. "Don't bring a knife to a gunfight, Thursday," she said with a shake of her head. Those cold, starry eyes turned on the humans of the group, specifically Dean. She only advanced one step though. Confusion flickered across her features as she obviously tried to move, but didn't succeed. "Elo -" The first words of a spell, and then she couldn't open her mouth- duct tape had mysteriously appeared over it. She struggled against whatever was holding her. What was holding her walked in front of her, Gabriel, in Cheryl's body, eyes blazing with Grace. "Azrael, stop this foolishness." Starry eyes met eyes glowing with Grace, and obviously some agreement was met. Azrael blinked, and her eyes were back to emerald. The Grace disappeared from Gabriel's gaze and with a snap from his fingers, the duct tape was gone from Azrael's mouth.

"Impossible. He killed you. I saw it... felt it. Then I couldn't find you. Any of you. I was going to put you back together, even if it took centuries, but I couldn't find you. Who brought you back?" There was sadness in Azrael's voice, and now that it wasn't colored with the tones of rage, it was surprisingly pretty, like honey almost. "We figured you would know. Your Uncle maybe?" "No. Death left here as soon as Lucifer's binding on him was broken. He takes no interest in Heavenly matters. He would not have brought you back... That only leaves..." "Father." Both Azrael and Gabriel snapped their gaze to Castiel, who was slowing standing up, rubbing his head. "My apologies, brother." Azrael said, nodding at Castiel, an odd look in her eyes. "But yes... that only leaves Father."

"Let me just get to the point. These are the Winchester brothers. The vessel I am inhabiting is this human's friend. We have come to bring you truth." He took a deep breath. "Raphael is a lying dickbag and you can't keep killing all these people! He's just trying to use you in his efforts to destroy everything in this War! " Gabriel's voice rose and Castiel turned to them and tilted his head at his brother's choice of words. Azrael smirked. "Guess it really is you. I don't believe I know any other angel that would use that exact expression." Her face froze as the exact meaning of the words sank in, then all Hell broke loose. Rage filled her eyes and her wings burst from her back in a whirlwind of feathers. "What do you mean Raphael lied? He said Father had specific instructions for me."

"Yeah... that was complete bullshit."

All at once, the air was sucked out of the building and the walls felt like they were collapsing. Air flooded back in but was now saturated with the hot smell of burning ozone. I collapsed, clawing red streaks into my throat, the immense pressure she was emitting strangling and burning my lungs. To my sides, Dean and Sam seemed to be having the same trouble. Cas had backed off, his eyes wild and panic written all over his face. Only Gabriel seemed unaffected, his arms crossed as he stood in the middle of the room.

"Okay, that's enough. Sit down and I'll pour you a drink."

"Fuck you too. Make it a Jaegerbaum..." A slight whooshing, and the three pairs of wings disappeared. The smell of ozone slowly faded, and she looked over at the three struggling humans. "I think I might have broken them," she spoke calmly. She snapped and I sat up in a rush, the blood finally returning to my extremities and the fresh air filling my lungs. Beside me, Sam groaned as he sat up.

"God damn it!" Dean yelled from his prone position as he rubbed his chest. Three striking pairs of angel eyes stared him down in utter silence. Dean finally looked up and blushed crimson as he realized his mistake. "Sorry, guys.."

The angels were smashed. An endless parade of drinks, fruity and otherwise had been flowing from the taps for hours like mana from Heaven. Gabriel let out a shrill giggle. "Why do the black jelly beans taste like ASS?" He picked through the massive pile of candy that covered the countertop.

"Why don't... Why don't you jus' change the colors? Then they aren't black an' they won' taste sobad." Azrael slurred from her spot on the floor.

Castiel's tie was wrapped around his head, his shirt unbuttoned and his trench coat on inside out. He seemed to be completely fascinated by the stool next to the one he was so precariously perched on. "I.. couldn't find Him." Cas whined. "I couldn't find Father. Even Dean's amulet didn't work. I failed and I'll... I'll fail again!" He said, hiccuping and raising one hand up in a salute to depression.

"Shut up, you little bitch," Azrael and Gabriel said simultaneously. Azrael looked at Gabriel and giggled. "It's like we're twins! Sep-a-rated at birth!" She sat up, a small groan escaping her lips and another when she sloshed the rest of her drink all over her shoes. "Ok. Ok. I think.. I think we've all had enough."

Gabriel turned to his sister. "So... you won't decimate the planet in revenge?"

"Naw," she waved her hand at him. "I like these humans. I'm sorry." She turned and yelled to me, Dean and Sam where we sat in the corner playing cards. "I'M SORRY GUYS! MY BAD!"

"Gabriel," she turned back to him. "Where's your body? That little redheadish vessel you used for however many millennia you went AWOL?"

Gabriel let his head slump to the bar, soaking Cheryl's curly black hair in tequila. "I dunno. I was kind of hoping you could get me a new body. I've got to give this one back eventually. She's still in school. And her friends are weird."

She muttered something that vaguely sounded like 'hypocrite'. "What?" Gabriel asked. "I said I'll fix it." Azrael said. "Definitely did not say hypocrite. Definitely."

"Jerk." Gabriel said.

"Bitch." replied Azrael.

The Winchester brothers looked at the two angels with odd looks, looked at each other, back at the angels, shrugged, and went back to the game. "This is why we lost, Sammy... our angels are a bunch of alcoholics..."

A few hours later, Cheryl was sitting next to Sam, I next to Dean. The four of us were in a diner off highway 45. Dean was molesting a double chili-cheeseburger and seasoned fries. I had a turkey club and Sprite. Cheryl had four slices of pie in front of her and was experimenting with different flavor combinations. Sam was nursing his third cup of coffee. We decided to pull off the highway and eat once Gabriel started singing "On Top of Spaghetti" in Enochian, claiming that he would "flip this hunk of tin over if we don't get something sweet soon". Castiel stayed back at the bar with Azrael, but assured us that they would find a way to configure a new, EMPTY vessel for Gabriel as soon as they could. All was silent except for the chewing and scraping of plates until Cheryl put down her fork, looked Sam up and down slowly and with no trace of sarcasm, said

"So.. is everything... proportional?"

Three things happened. I burst into raucous laughter, Dean choked on his oversized bite of food, and Gabriel popped in a beat later to say "If he wasn't, I would be legitimately disappointed!" with Cheryl's creepiest grin plastered on his face.

A flurry of wingbeats and Castiel and Azrael stood at the end of our table. The rest of the diner had gone chillingly still, as all time had been halted. Cheryl looked up at the odd couple and smiled, extending her hand to Azrael.

"Hi, I'm Cheryl! I don't think we officially met earlier."

Azrael cocked an eyebrow at the hand, but made no move to grab it.

"Yes, I'm Azrael, Archangel of Death. Nice to meet you too." She addressed the group, "I have found, with Castiel's assistance, a suitable vessel for you Gabriel and am prepared to make the exchange immediately."

Cheryl's face fell. "So I ate all this pie for nothing? I don't even LIKE pie!"

Gabriel suddenly stood up and spun in a circle, arms out like he was going to hug his brother and sister. "So where's this new meat-suit?" he asked, smiling. Castiel disappeared, then reappeared before the first sounds of his wings had faded away, this time with a male body standing next to him. There was no sense that body was actually living. It was the body of a reasonably good looking man, probably in his twenties. He was slightly tan, the hair was a reddish gold, the eyes were honey colored. The strong jaw was slightly scruffy, the lips made perfectly for a slightly smirk. The clothes the body had on were nondescript. A short sleeve shirt in a faded dark blue, torn blue jeans, and Converse was it. The sleeves were short enough to display well toned arms., and the legs within the blue jeans were sturdy. He would probably stand about 5'11" when upright, not tall, but not short. "I did at least try and find one that was close to similar. I assumed familiar would be comforting," Azrael said. "I couldn't get your old one back from the hotel because I... may have burned it down when I lost control."

Gabriel lurched forward and embraced Azrael, her face fading from initial shock to a warm smile. She pushed his chest so that he stood about five feet back then made the switch, pulling Gabriel out of Cheryl's body in one liquid stream of white-hot Grace and pouring it into the empty shell beside her. Dean, Sam and I sat in the booth shell-shocked. There weren't any earth-moving tremors, no explosions. Cheryl's body didn't instantly collapse or burn up into a pile of dust. She DID however, lean over clutching her stomach muttering "I feel sick" before plopping back down into the booth seat beside Sam.


	5. And There They Go

It was noon on a Saturday. The mission was over. Gabriel had left Cheryl, promising to remain (in one way) as Cheryl's guardian angel, always able to hear her call. Dean and Sam leaned side by side against the hood of the Impala in my dorm's back parking lot under a maple tree half-full of orange leaves, and Cheryl and I stood in front of them clutching small packages. Unintelligible music played softly out the open car windows. I stepped forward and handed Dean my parting gift- a veritable picnic basket filled with bacon sandwiches, bottles of soda, and a cherry pie I had baked earlier that day in the dorm's kitchenette. "This isn't even a question. You guys are exchanging phone numbers and keeping-in-touch." I said, emphasizing the last bit by leaning forward on each word and raising my eyebrows. "If you can, tell Castiel that Dean whistled appreciatively as he looked in the basket. "Hell, if you give us THIS every time we meet, I'll call you everyday!" Cheryl smiled and handed Sam her gift. "It's a cd. I filled it with songs that either reminded me of you two or songs that I'm sure you've never heard before but I think you'll enjoy. Listen to number three, Sam. I think you'll like it." "Thanks," Sam said as he turned it over and looked at the track listing she had written on the back. "But I'm skipping Katy Perry." She put out her arms and grinned. "Now give me a hug, ya bitch." Our friendly embraces felt like an eternity, Cheryl occasionally fumbling over who put their arms on top and who on bottom. After exchanging phone information (Sam entering our names and numbers in because Dean couldn't figure out the touchscreen), they got in the car and Sam slid the cd into the adapter he'd installed. As they pulled out of the lot, we heard the booming sounds of Motorhead turn into the softer strumming of "You're a Wolf" by Sea Wolf.

{A/N: so... there it is. This took entirely too long to finish and even now I'm thinking this ending is a bit cheesy (and short), but my sub-par writing will have to do. If you're interested, my friend that goes by the userid Levanael has written a companion piece/kind of sequel to this called "Fall With Me" and it is amazing compared to mine. Check that out.

Please review if you have the time. Tell me what you hated, loved, didn't get, etc. It feeds me.}


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